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Sunday, March 29, 2015

Pearls, pearls, pearls! An ETSY success... and SEEING REDS

Today we're adding a new feature: Seeing Reds: At the bottom of our Sunday post a list of events where you can find your favorite Reds...HALLIEEPHRON: When I saw the cover of my new book, I knew what I needed for my book
events. Pearls. PINK pearls, to be precise. I imagined a long, double-strand, lustrous
and glowing against the little black dress which, of course, I had to buy to go
with it.

My
search took me to ETSY where I spotted these pearls at WhitePearlGem.
They looked gorgeous and were priced at WELL under $100.The shop said they specialized in custom orders, so I sent a copy of the book cover and wrote a note that began:

I'm a mystery author going on tour with a new book that has
pink pearls on the cover...

Back
came an answer from Sharon Knowles in Tennessee:

“Those
are 10mm South Sea Shell Pearls in pink with cotton knotting (you can tell
because the knots are too big).”

Sharon made me this knockout hand-knotted (so if I break it I won’t lose the pearls)
necklace of said South Sea Shell Pearls -- man-made from the dust of real
pearls, seven layers painted on top of a real sea shell bead.

Here’s me wearing them at my book launch.

Sharon designs and makes all WhitePearlGem’s jewelry. When she says she takes “customer service” seriously, she is not
kidding. And aside from her wonderful pearl jewelry, she’s a fan of mystery novels.

And, because turnabout is fair play, here's Sharon with her copy of

my book and wearing a gorgeous necklace of her own design.

SHARON KNOWLES:I cut my I teeth on Erle Stanley Gardner, then Rex Stout and Nero Wolfe, I fell
in love with Archie in my 20's, but I moved on because he wasn't getting any
older!

I
thought when I retired, I would sew and make quilts. My machine collects dust
and I don't even hem pants. I play with beads and its wonderful. I started a
hobby to occupy me while I take care of my 85-year-old mother, and my hobby
turned into a profitable business. Who would have thought?

I talk to
loads of women on Etsy looking for help with events and weddings. I solve
problems. It's a big change from caring for the dying.

SHARON:
That's easy. Had a Lady send me photos of a "mauve dress" and wanted
a match for her sons wedding. Every time, photos of the dress, a different
color! Mauve is very hard to photograph. She also, sent me a photo of a $650
necklace she had seen in a dress shop.

She
said the end result, was better than the original. Total cost $110.00 for the
set.

HALLIE:How did you get into the pearl business?SHARON:
I have been a stock broker, a private trader, and when my daughter was born I
wanted to stay home so I traded on-line from home. When she was four I opened a
small day care.

Then
I took a break for 2 years, till boredom set in and a friend convinced me to go
to work with her cleaning houses. I ended up starting my own company and stayed
with that for 5-6 years. Then I went to work as a private-duty nurse for about
6 years.

I
started a shop on Etsy in 2008 and opened the Pearl shop in 2012 -- I wanted to
focus on Pearls. Etsy had almost no Pearls then, and nothing hand knotted.

HALLIE:Why pearls?

SHARON: I wanted to own Pearls. Good pearls are expensive or can be.

I have
always been good at research from my days of trading stocks for a living. So I
studied and researched and learned about Pearls. I learned how to hand knot and
how to buy good pearls, instead of junk. I figured out how to go directly to
the source. I have a regular supplier in China for quality pearls whom I have
used for almost 15 years.

HALLIE: Thank you Sharon. Your story is so inspiring! And did I mention: I LOVE MY PEARLS!

So Reds... How about you? Do you love pearls, or are diamonds your best friends? Dreaming here, of course...

Welcome, Sharon — and congratulations. Your shop is amazing and those pink pearls are not only gorgeous but absolutely perfect for Hallie's readings. I'm a huge Etsy fan and love supporting independent artists.

Pearls are magical to me. You put pearls on, and you are immediately transformed to a state of classic beauty, no matter that I'm not beautiful. And, what's especially lovely for me is that I can trace back my magical fascination with pearls to, well, a comic book I read growing up. I know there must be readers here who remember the Classics Illustrated Junior Comics. Well, The Pearl Princess was a favorite one for me. And, fast forward to present day, and I still consider pearls magical.

Hallie, the first time I saw your cover for Night Night, Sleep Tight, I fell in love with those pink pearls. Then, the set that you wore for your book launch were/are perfect. To have a back story on those pearls is yet another treat in the enjoyment of this novel. Sharon, your creation for Hallie is so gorgeous. I will be going to your Etsy page after posting these comments.

I agree, Lucy, that it's easy to get lost in all the unique and creative shops on Etsy. Tutus? For you? My daughter's sister-in-law is a jewelry artist and one place she sells is through Etsy. I've bought some great book items there, too, which were unavailable elsewhere.

Etsy is such a great resource! And I love the pink pearls. Rarely wear them, myself, but I do have a double strand that were my mom's - not valuable, I'm sure, but lovely. I might need to bring them out more often.

I adore pearls, and will have to go to Sharon's shop the next time I'm in the market!

One of the things I love about her story is how it illustrates an often overlooked trend: women entrepreneurs. Women have been starting their own businesses at a much higher rate than men for two decades now, and Forbes Magazine estimates that by 2018 HALF the small-business jobs in the US will be with women-led businesses. And it all starts with someone like Sharon having a good idea and putting the work into it!

Beautiful! The cover is beautiful and you and your pearls are even more so. I thought about getting pearls, but can you wear them with t-shirts?I finished Come and Find Me this morning (only able to sleep last night because Diana did) . . . almost late to teach tai chi because I couldn't stop until I got to the last word. Hugs!

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